UAC is beginning a project to generate income for rural communities near Mamfe and Buea, Cameroon through the establishment of communal snail farms. Snails are a low-input, high-yield crop that is easy for the communities to tend and harvest, and are a special delicacy in Cameroon and Nigeria. Volunteers trained in the care and construction of the farms will in turn train villagers in Etoko village and those involved with UAC in Buea so that they can construct and harvest their own farms. By building, tending, and harvesting snail farms the communities in Buea and Etoko village can sell the snails at market and use the profits from the farms to address the most pressing needs of their communities, such as supporting the operational costs at their local clinics or supplementing funds for school supplies.
In conjunction with the income generation project above, UAC volunteers are also conducting a survey of the Cameroonian health system. The information from this study will be used to help identify the disparities in access to and quality of health care in urban and rural areas, as well as the differences between public and private health care. The survey will inform our long-term clinic management plan for the clinic in Etoko village. With the funding from the snail farm project and the information from the survey we hope to find a way for the Etoko village to strengthen their own health care options through the hiring of new staff and subsidizing the costs of medication.
Bwassa is a small village located outside of the main urbanized area of Buea at the foot of Mount Cameroon, South West Province. The villagers of Bwassa suffer from extreme poverty and, while villagers are not unreceptive to information on HIV/AIDS, their first priority is increasing their income and standard of living. To address this concern United Action for Children (UAC) assisted a group of villagers in establishing a revolving credit group. The funds from the credit group will initially be used to fund a demonstration farm project and then later as a source of micro-credit loans for group members.
The villagers plan to use the demonstration farm as a place to experiment with new crops and farming techniques with the eventual goal of transferring successful practices to their own farms. They also plan to sell any crops produced at local markets, with any proceeds going to their revolving credit group. To support the project, UAC invited agricultural specialist Mrs. Sophie Ojong to visit the farm twice. During her visits Mrs. Ojong showed villagers how to plant crops efficiently and how to implement natural forms of fertilization and pest control. UAC is continuing to support the Bwassa Livelihood Project by meeting locals on a weekly basis to discuss their project plans and by researching information relevant to their activities.
The women of Bwassa have also expressed an interest in learning to make value-added products like soap and yogurt that can be sold at local markets. UAC is planning to bring in a teacher and supply materials to help the women realize their goal.